Murray Tops 300 Points as Syracuse Outscores Duke

It was the same one she debuted in practice on Tuesday, and one
that teammates made her promise to wear again on Saturday when the
Orange hosted the Blue Devils in their first-ever matchup.

Fittingly, it was Murray who led No. 3 Syracuse (10-1, 3-1 Atlantic
Coast) past No. 12 Duke (7-4, 2-2) 19-15 in front of 997 fans in
the Carrier Dome on Saturday. She finished with three goals and
four assists, eclipsing the 300-point mark for her career in the
process. Kayla Treanor, who entered the game as the ACC’s
leader in points, added four goals and an assist for the
Orange.

Kerrin Maurer tallied four goals and two assists for the Blue
Devils, who had a four-game winning streak snapped, but most of her
production came after the Orange used an 8-1 second-half run to
effectively pull away.

The Blue Devils didn’t score their second goal after halftime
until the 14:52 mark, and their third until more than six minutes
later.

“I think that’s just the way our team is,” Murray
said. “[Other] teams make runs, but we just try to have
bigger runs and make more frequent runs throughout the
game.”

Duke jumped on the Orange early with goals from Taylor Trimble and
Sydney Peterson in the opening 3:24, but a three-goal spurt keyed
by Treanor and Taylor Poplawki swung the tides.

The final tally in that run — a Poplawski goal off a flashy
Treanor feed—gave the Orange the lead at 4-3 with 15:38 left
in the first half.

“They were face-guarding me so I just got the ball and tried
to take my defender 1-on-1 and they helped on the slide,”
Treanor said. “Taylor was wide open.”

The Orange registered another 3-0 run late in the first half before
Webster and Treanor each beat Duke goalie Kelsey Duryea in the
final 48 seconds before halftime.

Syracuse took a 10-7 lead into the break and a 13-5 advantage in
draws, thanks to Kailah Kempney.

And after Maddy Morrissey scored on a free-position attempt to pull
Duke within two 57 seconds into the second half, the Orange offense
erupted.

“Their defense tried some shut-offs and I thought we stayed
poise and took advantage of those opportunities they gave
us,” SU head coach Gary Gait said.

Seven different Orange players scored as Kempney draw wins turned
to goals from every angle. The Blue Devils went 14:11 without
finding the back of the net. And, ultimately, Gait called the SU
starters off for the second- and third-team units to get some
play.

The Blue Devils closed the game on a 6-1 run, but it was too
little, too late, as the Orange sent Duke packing in its first trip
to the Carrier Dome.

Said Duke head coach Kerstin Kimel: “Fundamentally, we
didn’t play our brand of defense. Syracuse didn’t
really do anything weren’t expecting. I just don’t
think we played the way we’re capable of playing.”